


An Interesting Childhood

by Cat_Francis



Series: Sherlock Holmes and Lily Watson [2]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Family Fluff, Future Sherlolly, Gen, Lily Watson, Married Mary Morstan/John Watson, Sherlock Interacting with Children, hints of sherlolly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-15
Updated: 2014-09-05
Packaged: 2018-01-19 11:26:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1467766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cat_Francis/pseuds/Cat_Francis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lily is now a little kid and Sherlock's 'helpfulness' is about to get a lot more...just more.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Bedtime Story

**Author's Note:**

> I decided to procrastinate from studying and writing my other project (which has slowed considerably) and write this up. It ended up taking me longer than I thought, but that's what procrastination is about, right?. There is a time jump, as you'll notice. This is the first chapter with Lily as a small child. Enjoy!!

“You have to tell me a story before bed,” Lily said with all the assurance of a four-year-old.

“I don’t think so,” Sherlock replied just as confidently. He had agreed to watch Lily for the evening so that John and Mary could have some much-needed time alone. He had not agreed to any telling of stories.

“Yes you do. It’s the Rules.”

“You didn’t like the rules when it was time for bed in the first place.”

“Yeah, but I like stories so you have to tell me one.”

“Fine. What story do you want me to read?”

“I want you to make one up.”

“But I don’t know any stories.”

“Yes you do. Daddy says you talk all the time and never shut up for anyone else to say anything.”

“Oh did he?”

“Yeah. He says that a lot. Mummy always laughs.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that I don’t know any bedtime stories.”

Lily picked at a thread on her blanket and bit her lip.

“Uncle Charlie?” Lily said finally, using her special nickname for him. When she was first learning her name, she had gotten a bit confused between ‘Charlotte’ and ‘Sherlock’. She had, at the time, decided that they were the same name and ‘Charlotte’, or rather ‘Charlie’ had become her special name for her favourite godfather.

“Yeah?”

“What does ‘difficult’ mean?”

“Well, it means that something is hard to do. Why?”

“I heard my teacher talking about how I was being difficult today. Does that mean she doesn’t like me?”

“Oh. Of course it doesn’t. And you’re not ‘difficult’; you’re just… a little bit different from the other kids.”

“They never want to play detective with me. Just with blocks or paint but those things are boring.”

“They don’t have to be boring, but I know what you mean. But you know what? I just thought of a story for you.”

“See, I told you you knew some.”

“You were right. But this is a very special story. A story that I’ve never told anyone else before.”

Lily rolled onto her side and looked him in the eye. “Really?”

“Really. No one. So you have to keep it a secret, okay?” Sherlock was whispering now. The little girl nodded her head solemnly.

“Okay.”

“This is the story of a boy that I knew when I was little: William the Pirate, First Mate Redbeard and the adventures they had on the Good Ship Revenge.”

Lily gasped. “You knew a pirate?”

“Indeed I did. When I was little, like you.”

“Wow! What’s ‘first mate’?”

“It means that Redbeard was in charge when William wasn’t there.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“So, William and Redbeard were-”

“That’s not how you start a story.”

“Is it not?”

“No. You have to start with ‘once upon a time’.”

“And why is that?”

“Because you have to.”

“Alright, fine. Once upon a time William and Redbeard had been sailing for a long time aboard their ship, The Revenge, and they went to take a break on a nearby island. But when they got there, there were a bunch of other pirates who were all taking a break from sailing too. One of these other pirates was a bully named Captain Mikey who was always mean to William. When Captain Mikey saw William and Redbeard land on the island, he hurried over to them because he liked calling William names.

‘Hey Stupid, nice boat. I can’t believe you even know how to sail it,” Captain Mikey said and all the other pirates laughed.

‘I know how to do lots of things, so there,” William replied, trying not to hit the Captain who was much bigger than he was. ‘And I’m way braver than you are.’

‘That’s okay. Being brave is the same as being stupid, so if you wanna be stupid, go ahead.’

But just then, another ship landed on the island. Except this one wasn’t a pirate ship. It was filled with Octopus-monsters! They crawled down the sides of their ship and landed with loud _plops_ in the water. Then they crawled across the sand and began attacking the pirates. No one knew what to do. Everyone screamed and ran away from the Octopus-monsters who were attacking them. Except for William and Redbeard. They were the only ones not running away.

‘Hey, Octopus-monster,” William yelled at the monster who was the biggest and therefore the captain. “Here’s the deal: We duel. If I win, you have to leave us all alone.’

‘And if I win?’ the Octopus-captain said in his inky black voice.

‘Then you get the whole island for your very own.’

‘Deal!’

So William had to sword-fight with the Octopus-captain and for a while it looked like William was going to lose. But luckily, he had read a book on sword-fighting just the other day so he knew a special trick to make sure he would win. He used his sword to catch the handle of the Octopus-captain’s sword and flick it out of his tentacle. The sword flew through the air, flashing in the sun and stuck in the sand, blade first. William had won the duel.

‘You won the duel,’ the Octopus-captain said. ‘We will leave you all alone. You can have your island back.’

And so, the Octopus-monsters all crawled back to their ship and sailed away across the ocean. The rest of the pirates cheered and were happy that William was different because he knew how to sword-fight and read books that taught him special tricks. Captain Mikey didn’t even apologize for the mean things he had said to William, but it was alright because William knew that he had won. And he knew that Captain Mikey wouldn’t have been able to do what he did, so William ignored Captain Mikey and focused on the cheering of the other pirates.

As William and Redbeard climbed back on board The Revenge, William waved his hat with the special blue feather in it and everyone cheered even more. That was the day that William and Redbeard learned that it was perfectly alright to be different, even if other people say it’s not.

How was that for a bedtime story, Lily?” Sherlock asked, pleased despite his original misgivings.

The little girl just looked at him with shining eyes. “I wanna be a pirate when I grow up and fight octopuses and stuff!”

“Maybe you will one day, but for right now, it’s time to go to bed.”

“But I’m not tired,” Lily said, rubbing at her eyes.

“You’re not?”

“No. Where did William get the blue feather in his hat from?”

Sherlock winked at her. “That’s the story for the next time.”

“But I want to know now.”

“You have to wait. But I think I know something that might help you sleep.”

“But I don’t want to sleep.”

“Hmmmm. Okay, I think I know what to do. How about this: you don’t have to go to sleep, but you have to lay very still and quiet. In return, I’ll play my violin for you. Would that be a good idea?”

Lily nodded and snuggled further down in her blanket, trying to find the most comfortable position while Sherlock went to the living room and retrieved the violin he had brought for just such an emergency. He returned to find Lily already with her eyes closed. He suspected that she might be asleep already, but he had promised to play. So he did. The first song that came to mind was the one he had composed so long ago while working on the Bexley murder case; the night he had borrowed Lily to talk to. By the time he was finished, her breathing was soft and regular.

He turned off the light and closed her door almost all the way, “Good night, Pirate Lily."


	2. Princess Flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John walks in on Sherlock practicing his marriage proposal (for Molly) on baby Watson. Requested by tumblr user: weasleygirl928.

**A/N: This has been continued in a new fic:[here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2404073/chapters/5316416)**

* * *

 

John made his way up the steps of 221. He was a little bit early to pick Lily up from her play-date with her godfather, but it couldn't be helped; Mary was sick and he had to drop Lily off at home before his next surgery appointment. As he go closer to the flat he once called home, he heard Sherlock's muffled voice through the closed door.

"So, Molly, will you marry me?"

John froze on the spot and waited, breath held, for Molly's answer. Instead, he heard his daughter giggle.

"That's not how you ask a princess to marry you, uncle Charlie. You have to tell her she's beautiful first, everyone knows that. And that you love her. And you need a ring. And maybe flowers. And music. And pretty dresses."

John crept a few stairs up, stifling a laugh at Sherlock asking a five-year-old for relationship advice.

"Yes, of course you're right, Lily. What kind of flowers, do you think she would like?"

"Princess flowers."

"What kind of flowers are those?" he asked slowly.

"The most beautifulest."

"Hmmm."

"And you have to be on one knee."

"Why?"

John listened closer, fully appreciating the irony of Sherlock's question.

"Because you're really tall so Molly will have to jump to kiss you and that's not fair."

"What if she doesn't want to kiss me?"

Lily said nothing but John could imagine the petulant look on her face, confident as only a child can be.

"Okay, fine. One knee it is."

John couldn't bear it anymore; he had to see the scene for himself. He opened the door and, though he had been listening in, was not prepared for what he saw. Lily was standing on the couch, practically drowning in one of Sherlock’s old lab coats, hands on her hips and an imperious look on her face. Sherlock, on the other hand, was down on one knee and wearing his deep purple shirt. He managed to look scared, annoyed and embarrassed all at the same time.

"John. You're early," he said, hurrying to his feet.

"Yeah, just a bit. What's..uh...what's going on here?"

"We were...doing an experiment."

John crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "Were you?"

"Yes. Now, sorry Lily, but it's time for you to go home. Your father is spoiling our game. As usual," Sherlock said, helping the little girl down from the couch and out of the coat. Then he knelt down in front of her and spoke quietly. "Do you remember how we were talking about secrets before? Well, this...experiment...is a big, big secret, okay? So you can't tell anyone about it."

"Not even Mummy and Daddy?"

"Especially not them. I'm counting on you, Pirate Lily. Now, John, whatever you may think you heard, you were mistaken. You will not repeat anything that you thought you heard to your darling wife. Now just look sorry and leave."

John snorted. "Sherlock, are you seriously trying to threaten me? I'll keep it from Mary, if you like, but that was just pathetic."

"It was worth a shot," he shrugged. "Really, go though. I have work to do."

"Do you mean that you have 'princess flowers' to buy? About time, too."

"No. See you next week, Lily. Try to keep your daddy's nose out of other people's business. He finds that difficult sometimes."

John said nothing but shut the door behind him, chuckling all the way down the steps.


End file.
